If I could, I would travel the world to experience vast oceans, majestic mountains, medieval towers, suspension bridges, castles and the breathtaking sights and sounds of bustling cities and quaint towns.
Over the past three years, I’ve been fortunate to visit Alaska; Turin, Florence and Sorrento, Italy; Paris and Provence, France; Warsaw, Poland; Costa Rica; Panama; the Galápagos; and Belize.
With each unique destination, one thing stood out: the food.
James Beard said, “Food is our common ground, a universal experience,” which highlights how sharing a meal brings people together across all differences. Each country or region has its own specialties, and I'm blessed to have tried many of them.
Let's explore a few memorable ones, starting with my early family favorites.
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, my mom, aunts and grandmas (Mamie and MawMaw) taught me to enjoy some of the finer foods like seafood gumbo, crawfish etouffee, stuffed artichokes, red beans and rice, and jambalaya. After moving to Buffalo, New York as a child, it was the original Buffalo chicken wings and pizza from Frank & Teressa’s Anchor Bar that we craved, but mom continued to make our favorite southern dishes.
American Chef and Restauranteur Thomas Keller said, “No one owns the products of the world. Chefs imprint their own personality and thoughts onto food, and their story, history, culture and heritage bring us together.”
Not surprisingly, meeting chefs from other countries has deepened my appreciation for their unique culinary skills. During a yoga retreat in Turin, Italy, we watched our guide and chef, Monica Wuthrich, shop at a local market in Bra, a city in the northwestern Piedmont region, for fresh dinner ingredients. We then helped her prepare homemade pasta, sauce and tiramisu for dessert.
“I love creating new dishes and especially enjoy teaching others the art of Italian cuisine,” Monica says. She learned to cook from her parents, Ernesto and Carlotta, as a young child and later graduated from Gastronomiche di Pollenzo.
The University of Gastronomic Sciences (UNISG) in Pollenzo is the world’s only university devoted entirely to gastronomic sciences. Located in a UNESCO heritage site, it combines education, research and hands-on culinary experiences. Our group toured this distinctive campus, where academic, cultural heritage and practical gastronomy come together. The university prepares professionals in food science, culture, sustainability and management while giving visitors an immersive look at one of Italy’s most celebrated culinary regions.
Last fall, during another yoga retreat in Provence, France, we settled into our home away from home at Mas Millésime, where owners Ronald and Charlene and Chef Catherine from Belgium treated us to sumptuous meals. Each morning, breakfast in the farmhouse kitchen featured homemade breads, croissants, fresh fruit, assorted jams – plum, blueberry, red currant and apricot – along with Charlene’s homemade yogurt, granola, almonds, raisins, nuts, scrambled eggs and bacon.
After a bountiful breakfast, we had the energy to explore Les Baux, an old town with 10th-century ruins and evidence of settlements dating back to 6,000 BCE. The lookout near the ruins offers stunning views, while the cobblestone streets of the newer town are lined with quaint shops, restaurants and St. Vincent Church. That evening, Chef Catherine prepared carrot-ginger soup, spinach and zucchini puff pastry, salmon with butternut squash, red onion and fennel purée along with a creamy chocolate mousse for dessert.
One highlight of our trip was taking cooking lessons at Chef Catherine’s home. We prepared ratatouille from scratch, puff pastry dough, chicken breasts and seabass stuffed with prosciutto, goat cheese and ratatouille, along with baby potatoes. For dessert, we made cream puffs with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce – a meal fit for royalty.
“To understand a culture, taste its food,” as they say. As I prepare to travel to Greece and Malta this month, I hope to experience so much more.
“Food is our common ground, a universal experience." – James Beard
PULL QUOTE FOR FLEX PAGE 21: “To understand a culture, taste its food.”